This book contains 26 papers presented at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on "CAD Based Programming for Sensory Robots," held in IL CIOCCa, Italy, July 4-6, 1988. CAD based robot programming is considered to be the process where CAD (Computer Based) models are used to develop robot programs. If the program is generated, at least partially, by a programmer interacting, for example, with a computer graph i c d sp i 1 ay of the robot and its workce 11 env ironment, the process is referred to as graphical off-line programming. On the other hand, if the robot program is generated automatically, for example, by a computer, then the process is referred to as automatic robot programmi ng. The key element here is the use of CAD models both for interact i ve and automat i c generat i on of robot programs. CAD based programmi ng, therefore, bri ngs together computer based model i ng and robot programmi ng and as such cuts across several discipl ines including geometric model ing, robot programming, kinematic and dynamic modeling, artificial intelligence, sensory monitoring and so-on.

Machines will gradually become programmed using computers which have the knowledge of how the objects in the world relate to one another. This book capitalizes on the fact that products which are manufactured can be designed on the computer and that information about the product such as its physical shape provide powerful information to reason about how to develop the process plan for their manufacture. This book explores the whole aspect of using the principles of how parts behave naturally to automatically generate programs that govern how to produce them. The last decade saw tremendous work on how machines can be programmed to perform a variety of tasks automatically. Robotics has witnessed the most work on programming techniques. But it was not until the emergence of the advanced CAD system as a proper source of information representation about objects which are to be manipulated by the robot that it became viable for automated processors to generate robot programs without human interface. It became possible for objects to be described and for principles about how they interact in the world to be developed. The functions which the features designed into the objects serve for the objects can be adequately represented and used in reasoning about the manufacturing of the parts using the robot. This book describes the necessary principles which must be developed for a robot to generate its own programs with the knowledge of the world in the CAD system.

Problems common to graphics and robotics are covered in this reviewed selection of papers written following a 1993 workshop. Leading experts from both disciplines met to identify common problems, to present new solutions, and to discuss future research directions. Topics covered include robot simulation using graphics workstations, simulation concepts in the framework of teleoperation, path planning strategies, collision detection techniques, experimentation using virtual reality, modeling techniques for automated programming and for objects with curved surfaces, object-oriented implementations, various aspects of robot vision, and - in a paper that reflects the essence of the workshop - the challenging task of designing a vision system for a domestic robot.

Most industrial robots today have little or no sensory capability. Feedback is limited to information about joint positions, combined with a few interlock and timing signals. These robots can function only in an environment where the objects to be manipulated are precisely located in the proper position for the robot to grasp (i. e. , in a structured environment). For many present industrial applications, this level of performance has been adequate. With the increasing demand for high performance sensor-based robot manipulators in assembly tasks, meeting this demand and challenge can only be achieved through the consideration of: 1) efficient acquisition and processing of intemaVextemal sensory information, 2) utilization and integration of sensory information from various sensors (tactile, force, and vision) to acquire knowledge in a changing environment, 3) exploitation of inherent robotic parallel algorithms and efficient VLSI architectures for robotic computations, and finally 4) system integration into a working and functioning robotic system. This is the intent of the Workshop on Sensor-Based Robots: Algorithms and Architectures - to study the fundamental research issues and problems associated with sensor-based robot manipulators and to propose approaches and solutions from various viewpoints in improving present day robot manipula tors in the areas of sensor fusion and integration, sensory information processing, and parallel algorithms and architectures for robotic computations.

In the 21st century, computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) systems will not only be the economic development tools but will also be the essential means of achieving a higher level of flexibility, cohesiveness and performance. CIM systems are beginning to settle into our society and industries, with greater emphasis on the integration of economic, cultural and social aspects together with design, planning, factory automation and artificial intelligent systems.This volume of proceedings brings together 10 keynote and invited speaker addresses, and over 180 papers by practitioners from 28 countries. It documents current research and in-depth studies on the fundamental aspects of advanced CIM systems and their practical applications. The papers fall into 3 main sections: CIM Related Issues; Industrial AI Applications Aspects; and Concurrent Engineering, Advanced Design, Simulation and Flexible Manufacturing Systems.

Modern information processing systems show such complex properties as distribution, parallelism, interaction, time dependency, and nondeterminism. For critical applications, mathematical methods are needed to model the systems and to support their development and validation. Impressive progress in mathematical methods for programming software systems makes it possible to think about unifying the different approaches. This book gives a comprehensive overview of existing methods and presents some of the most recent results in applying them. The main topics are: advanced programming techniques, foundations of systems engineering, mathematical support methods, and application of the methods. The approaches presented are illustrated by examples and related to other approaches.

Of the 300 papers presented during IROS '94, 48 were selected because they are particularly significant and characteristic for the present state of the technology of intelligent robots and systems. This book contains the selected papers in a revised and expanded form.Robotics and intelligent systems constitute a very wide and truly interdisciplinary field. The papers have been grouped into the following categories:– Sensing and Perception – Learning and Planning– Manipulation– Telerobotics and Space Robotics– Multiple Robots– Legged Locomotion– Mobile Robot Systems– Robotics in MedicineOther additional fields covered include; control, navigation and simulation. Since many researchers in robotics are now apparently interested in some combination of learning, mobile robots and robot vision, most of the articles included relate to at least one of these fields.